Legendary Twin Peaks Filmmaker Passes Away at 78, Family Confirms

David Lynch, the American director whose films encompass the surrealist cult favorites Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks, has passed away at the age of 78.

His family announced Lynch’s passing on his official Facebook account on Thursday.

“There’s now a significant void in the world without him,” the announcement stated.

“However, as he would often express, ‘Focus on the donut and not on the hole.’… It’s a lovely day filled with golden sunshine and blue skies all around.”

Lynch disclosed in August of the previous year that he was struggling with emphysema, a long-term lung condition caused by “years of smoking”.

Regarded by many as an unconventional filmmaker, he garnered three Oscar nominations for Best Director throughout his career for his work on Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, and Mulholland Drive.

Naomi Watts, who featured in Mulholland Drive, stated: “My heart is shattered”.

“My dear Dave… The world will not be the same without him,” the actress, originally from Britain, posted on Instagram.

“His creative guidance was immensely influential. He helped launch my career. The industry I had been striving to enter for over ten years, failing auditions repeatedly.”

She continued: “It wasn’t solely his artistry that affected me – his wisdom, wit, and affection provided me with a unique sense of confidence I had never found before.”

His final significant work was Twin Peaks: The Return, which aired in 2017, furthering the television series that aired for two seasons in the early 1990s.

“David was harmonized with the universe and his own creativity on a level that represented the finest version of humanity,” actor Kyle MacLachlan, who acted in numerous Lynch projects including Twin Peaks, expressed in a tribute.

“He did not pursue answers because he recognized that questions drive us to become who we are.”

Describing Lynch as “a mysterious and insightful man with a creative depth overflowing within him”, MacLachlan added: “My life feels remarkably richer because I knew him and now feels much emptier with his absence.”

Lara Flynn Boyle, who portrayed Donna Hayward on the series, characterized him as the “genuine Willy Wonka of filmmaking”.

“I feel as though I received the golden ticket having the opportunity to collaborate with him. He will be profoundly missed,” she remarked in a statement issued to Deadline.

Lynch was awarded the esteemed Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Wild at Heart in 1990.

Patricia Arquette, who starred in Lynch’s 1997 neo-noir thriller Lost Highway, told SiriusXM’s Radio Andy: “There is nobody quite like him.”

The leading actor of that film, Nicolas Cage, shared with BBC World Service’s Newshour program that he was a principal reason he fell in love with cinema.

“I frequently watched his film Eraserhead in Santa Monica,” he mentioned. “He was a significant factor in why I pursued filmmaking. He was one of a kind. He cannot be replicated.”

Director Steven Spielberg stated he was a “unique, visionary dreamer who crafted films that felt handcrafted”.

“The world will greatly miss such an original and distinct voice,” he remarked in a statement to Variety.

Director Ron Howard referred to him as a “generous individual and daring artist who followed his heart & soul demonstrated that bold experimentation could produce unforgettable cinema”.

Musician Moby, for whom Lynch directed the video for Shot In The Back Of The Head, expressed he was “truly devastated”.

Numerous films by Lynch were recognized for their surrealistic, dreamlike essence.

Eraserhead, his first notable release in 1977, contained grim, unsettling visuals.

“Although his imagination certainly captures the viscerally impactful, this remains a mediocre achievement by his later benchmarks,” a BBC critic stated concerning the film in 2001.

In a May 2024 interview conducted with BBC Radio Three’s Sound of Cinema, Lynch articulated the journey of collaborating with the late composer Angelo Badalamenti, who created many of the audio landscapes that complemented his vision.

“And then I would express, ‘no that’s still too swift, it’s not dark enough, it’s not menacing and foreboding enough,'” Lynch reminisced.

His artistic contributions were acknowledged at the Oscars in 2020 when he received an honorary Academy Award.

The director mentioned last year that, despite his emphysema diagnosis, he felt in “fantastic condition” and would “never retire”.

He noted that the diagnosis was the “cost to bear” for his smoking practice.

However, his health worsened shortly thereafter. In a November interview with People magazine, he stated he required oxygen to walk.

Originating from Missoula, Montana, Lynch initially embarked on a career in painting before transitioning to create short films during the 1960s.